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AndieF
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| Posted: Sept 16 2008 at 6:12pm | IP Logged
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OK, overall, I'm a pretty organized person, but this year, I'm really have problems keeping things organized related to my almost 9 year's schoolwork. OK, maybe I should rephrase the problem. How can I get my almost 9 year old to keep her schoolwork organized? 
The problem is that despite trying reminding her, having her put her books away as she uses them, etc., I still end up finding her things all over the house. We use a main lesson book for recording things, but we do it for all subjects and then just get a new one when it is filled. We are FOREVER looking for her main lesson book. She also will take sheets of paper out of the main lesson book (it is spiral artist sketchbook) and leave them all around the house. Some of the organization things that we do have are: a backpack to put her books in, and there is basket for her library books, and a shelf on the family bookcase for literature books and reference books.
Any organizational tips that are working for anyone else?
Andie, mama to two dds (8 & 6) one ds (3) and home Montessori preschool teacher to 4!
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SallyT
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| Posted: Sept 16 2008 at 11:03pm | IP Logged
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We're bad about that, especially as we don't have or use a designated schoolroom. I have a closet given over to homeschooling books and resources, which keeps the things we AREN'T currently using in some kind of order, but the things we ARE using present a challenge!
What works best for us (or at least, least problematically) is to have A place where we put EVERYTHING we're using: notebooks, book-books, library books, everything. A shelf, a mantel, some surface which will hold all the stuff we're using, all together, so it's there the next time we need it. Too many designated places, and things get out of place and we spend all our time looking from one "book spot" to another for whatever we put down and now can't find. Currently we've been doing schoolwork in our study, which started out to be grownup work space for my husband and me (yeah, right, dream on), and which has one of those ventless gas-fireplace console things with a huge deep mantel-top. That space just cries out to be cluttered up with our school stuff, so that's where it goes, and then when we go to snuggle up on the couch to do our work, there it is.
I've also used a kitchen cabinet, a shelf, the floor in the corner of the dining room . . . whatever's close to the space where a child routinely likes to work. The key for us has been to keep it all together -- all of a given child's supplies, all in one place. Otherwise, we're hopeless.
Good luck!
Sally
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Paula in MN
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| Posted: Sept 17 2008 at 7:41am | IP Logged
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This year I went to the tote bag system. I filled their totes at the start of the year with everything they need for the first 9 weeks. So far it is working.
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 Paula
A Catholic Harvest
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Willa
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| Posted: Sept 17 2008 at 9:23am | IP Logged
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Before my kids were "done" with school for the day, they were supposed to bring everything to a designated place. I would check off after I looked over their work and made sure all their things were in their box. If I was consistent in doing this, it worked.
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: Sept 17 2008 at 11:34am | IP Logged
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I no longer have any little ones diverting me away from the learning table so I stay with the girls as they do their work.
All work is kept in each child's basket on the learning cabinet. Library books are kept in a basket by the chair in the sitting room.
Each piece of work is gone over together then the child does that as I work with the other child. Then I check it or we discuss it and the book goes back into the basket and the child writes the lesson in her main lesson planner.
For my high schooler, his lesson books (MODG) are kept in a bin...no longer in his room because it was too easy for him to not check in with me. Now his books are in the sitting room. He gets his books in the morning and keeps track of his work in his own lesson planner. The plan here is that before he places his books back in the sitting room goes over his planner with me. Literature is discussed, assignments checked.
Teaching Textbook keeps track of his math...that's a blessed load off me...though I have him explain new concepts to me.
We are also doing the co-op this year that was set-up for our high students (especially those using MODG). He will study the Odyssey and Iliad in a class setting (though we've done an abridged version of the Odyssey together) and he will also take a Grammar class using Warriner's 3rd.
My family can tell you how unorganized I am. But, for reasons I don't understand, this year I'm feeling incredibly organized. At least through the month of September...
And, perhaps because if you subtract all the days we've had off due to hurricanes, we keep having so many "first days of school".
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Sept 17 2008 at 12:00pm | IP Logged
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Well with a child that was doing math during her quiet time in bed before lights out I give up. I have places to put things but just have to realize that if we're going to let the kids work when they want to (plus when we're all doing work) then we'll have to deal with hunting things down periodically. At this point it's worth the tradeoff.
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MamaLamb
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| Posted: Sept 20 2008 at 10:11am | IP Logged
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I ditto the basket thing: library books, math manipulatives, games, etc.)
Some other things I've done are: pencil box with tape, glue, scissors, erasers, Rosary, sharpened pencils, etc. I do have to check periodically to make sure they are stocked. Oh yeah, I have one too, so that if, by chance someone has lost their pencil, voila, Mama has one!
We've also created special art-only folders - where all of our art goes. Next is using bdiners. Everything gets popped in, either using a hole-punch or protective sleeve. Every couple of weeks we do have to gather up miscellaneous papers and file them appropriately, but it's a much easier task now.
God bless!
Heather in CA
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hereinantwerp
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Yup, a big basket big enough to keep all of each child's schoolbooks (main lesson books, math books, current read-alouds, etc.) Maybe a second basket for art supplies in plastic "pencil containers", writing pencils, rulers, art paper, odd-shaped things you need regularly. You can just each basket to where you are working, vs. getting out individual items which tend to wander everywhere.
The square baskets from Ikea are great--so are the plastic "milk crate" file boxes. If you get a basket-basket, make sure it has a strong wire frame inside, otherwise they break down quite quickly.
A third basket for "finished work" is also good. (more of a "lay-flat style basket"). Work that needs filed, corrected, whatever, if you don't get to it right away, at least you know where it is. Kids can put finished stuff in there for you to deal with, that's an easy habit.
Also--you don't need to keep everything. Quite a bit of our stuff goes in the round file in the end . . . !
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Erin
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We have very little space so my children each have a magazine holder. Books go back into that at lunch time and then straight into the cupboard.
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Organizational Tips?
